By CHRIS KOSTICK

On a not quite sunny, but not quite rainy, Sunday morning, teams from Shippensburg University (Shippensburg, PA), Chestnut Hill College (Philadelphia, PA), Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD), Kutztown University (Kutztown, PA), and Franklin and Marshall College (Lancaster, PA) gathered to battle it out in the name of the Weasley twins on a picturesque field on Franklin and Marshall’s campus. The Fred Weasley Memorial Tournament began at 11AM, and did not disappoint the spectators that arrived to watch the matches, many of them first-time quidditch spectators, including parents, students, three of the cutest kids you might ever see, and a few little dogs.

Johns Hopkins took the tournament, and the gold trophy, with the best record and point differential. Said Audrey Zeldin, captain of the Johns Hopkins team, “Welcome to ouchtown! population: my legs. Welcome to Winnersville! Populations: HALLOWS.” Her first sentiment was shared by many, as bumps, bruises, and soreness were a common theme for the day. Her second was only shared by her teammates on the Hopkins Hallows, who went home with a tournament victory.

The tournament started with a battle between hosts Franklin and Marshall and a decimated Shippensburg team which could only pull together 10 players after their keeper dropped out that very morning. Despite the lack of substitutes, the Warlocks of Shippensburg were able to keep up with the powerful Franklin and Marshall team, reaching a score of 30-30 before the seeker floor was even up. Then Franklin and Marshall took the show, with a strong offensive attack and solid defense backed by their beaters, who retained bludger control for the majority of the match. Franklin and Marshall soared ahead to a score of 150-30, before Shippensburg Seeker James Holliday apparated out of thin air to grab the snitch, ending the match at a final score of 150-60 in favor of Franklin and Marshall.

The next match was between Johns Hopkins and the Chestnut Hill Griffons. Both teams went hard, culminating in a physical struggle backed by strong defenses on both sides. Johns Hopkins got a leg up on the Griffons though, and slowly slipped away before catching the snitch and ending the match with a score of 120-30.

Shippensburg met arch-rival/best-friends Kutztown for what can only be described as “the friendliest team match up in the state of Pennsylvania.” With jokes and casual conversation occurring simultaneously with fierce competition, the teams duked it out as they have seven times since February. Again, Shippensburg was able to hold off their opponents for a while, but without star Chaser Roedel Mims (a.k.a. “Superstar”) and a corps of substitutes to pull from, fatigue set in, and the strong offensive attack of Kutztown, led and followed by Keeper Ian “EvilKeeperGuy” Parisen, Kutztown took the match 160-60 after a successful snitch catch.

Hosts Franklin and Marshall then played Johns Hopkins in what could easily have been a tournament finals match, if there were to be one. The match was highly defensive, with very low scoring and Bludgers flying left and right. The two teams were neck and neck, Johns Hopkins having a very slight lead 40-30 before the snitch returned to the pitch. The snitch battle was something to behold. Once the snitch had dismounted the shed at the far end of the field, beaters and seekers alike swirled into a mass of chaos that, to the untrained eye, would have been terribly difficult to follow. Finally, Franklin and Marshall’s seeker was able to grab the snitch, and end the closest match of the day at 60-40 in favor of Franklin and Marshall.

Shippensburg, full of burgers, chicken, and soda from the lunch break, had little chance against the elite team from Johns Hopkins in the next match, and fell 120-10 in the next match, the only score for Shippensburg coming from Chaser Sammy Herto, who described the goal as, “It didn’t go in…”

Another entertaining match came at the hands of Franklin and Marshall and Chestnut Hill. The latter, really starting to miss Hall of Fame-worthy Keeper Devin DeVoue who graduated last spring, came back with a vengeance after their deflating loss to the Hallows of Johns Hopkins. With their strong balance of offense and defense they were able to narrowly defeat Franklin and Marshall by a margin of 70-60.

The tournament then became a point differential battle, as the three remaining games were against underdogs Shippensburg and Kutztown, lovingly referred to as the “Kutzenburg Kedavlocks” by players of the respective teams. Johns Hopkins handily tore down Kutztown 180-10, blasting a crater in the team’s lead on point differential. Shippensburg, trying to play spoiler to Chestnut Hill, only recorded a single goal but held the Griffons to 80 points and captured the snitch for a respectable loss of 80-40.

The final match was a thriller between Kutztown and Franklin and Marshall. Kutztown jumped out to a surprising 30-0 lead and managed an excellent defensive match, led by Keeper Ian Parisen and Beaters Jeffrey Thornton and Katie Niagara. Franklin and Marshall bounced back to tie at 40-40 when the snitch returned to the pitch. At this, Franklin and Marshall was able to gain bludger control, and with only one bludger and a Seeker to defend, Kutztown fell apart defensively, allowing 6 unanswered goals. Kutztown’s Seeker grabbed the snitch to end the match at a close 100-70.

At the end of the day, Johns Hopkins’ strong offense and defense led them to a victory at the tournament. It was a great, albeit bruising day of matches, and though only one team departed as victor, the other teams certainly did not leave with nothing. Many players purchased the tournament t-shirts which featured the names of all attending teams, but most importantly, teams left with more experience and all intact limbs. Seeker James Holliday of Shippensburg said of his decimated team, “Good playing today everyone. I saw a lot of good hustle and flow on that pitch.”

The tournament overall was a very clean set of matches, with no cards and only a few warnings and stoppages of play. No injuries other than the few bumps and bruises typical of the sport of quidditch, and athletes and spectators alike had a great time. All scores are listed below.

Ship = Shippensburg
F&M = Franklin and Marshall
JHU = Johns Hopkins
CHC = Chestnut Hill
Kutz = Kutztown

F&M 150 Ship 60 (Ship snitch catch)
JHU 120 CHC 30 (JHU snitch catch)
Kutz 160 Ship 60 (Kutz snitch catch)
F&M 60 JHU 40 (F&M snitch catch)
JHU 120 Ship 10 (JHU snitch catch)
CHC 70 F&M 60 (CHC snitch catch)
JHU 180 Kutz 10 (JHU snitch catch)
CHC 80 Ship 40 (Ship snitch catch)
F&M 100 Kutz 70 (Kutz snitch catch)